Beth M.
Well, jeez I'm a bit ticked off at the moment. I hadn't been on this site for a long time, and I was asked to use the new format for my page. All I had written over the years has been wiped away. All my thoughts, all my concerns, all my triumphs.....gone.
My stats:
Age at surgery: 30 (2mo before my 31st b.d.)
Height: 5 ft, 10 3/4 in tall
Weight at surgery: 303
Weight at highest: 321
Body style: large-boned & pair-shaped naturally
I don't remember how long it was before my surgery date that I started thinking of a WLS as my best option to lose massive weight and become healthy. I remember that I had found a doctor close by, and started going to his support groups religiously every week. I met my best friend Jamie there, we had our surgeries (diff ones though) 6 days apart. Anyway, during the time I was looking into procedures and all with that doctor's practice, they stopped accepting my insurance carrier. I found my surgeon, Dr. Klein of Torrance CA, but kept going to that group as well as starting to attend Klein's support group.
I remember getting a phone call from their office one morning, after everything had been done (the usual testing, psych appt, etc), saying that they had submitted to my insurance the previous afternoon, and they got the approval for my Bilio Pancreatic Diversion that morning. What?! That's less than 24 hours for my insurance to approve it. Amazing, considering all the horror stories I had heard about insurance companies. I believe that was in February 2002, and my surgery date was set for May 7th.
My procedure was open, so I was in the hospital for 5 days for healing and monitoring. At the time, I was living with my (old) best friend Heather, and she did home daycare so was able to care for my daughter while I was hospitalized. Becky was 8 1/2 at that time. I healed really well, and lost very quickly. I lost 100 lbs by my 9th month p.o. I developed a hernia on my surgical line, so Dr. Klein set a date for my hernia repair & he did a tummy tuck for me. My stomach apron hung down to the top of where my pubic hair starts. I think my 2nd surgery was in March 2003, just shy of my 1st anniversary. After that surgery I think my weight was down to 196.
Fast forward to Nov 30, 2007 (today), I weigh 203.5. I feel fabulous and currently wear an XL/16 (down from 3X/26-28).